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COSMETIC DENTISTRY

Every person would like to have a perfect smile, but nature is rarely so accommodating. Even if you're one of the lucky ones whonever desirable braces, the rough-and-tumble of life, along with lifestyle such as smoking or drinking coffee, invariably result in chips, stains, or an overall dirty look.

Until quite recently, there wasn't a lot the normal person could do to get better the appearance of teeth away from having them cleaned once or twice a year. In the last two decades, however, improvements in dental materials and healing techniques have made it possible for most of us to have close to model-perfect teeth that resist color changes and are almost as strong as the originals.

If you have been considering ways to make brighter your smile or exact imperfections, there's never been a better time to do it. Demand for beauty dental procedures is greater than ever, in part because baby boomers with money to spend are looking for ways to feel and look younger.

BONDING

Bonding uses a tooth-colored composite resin (plastic) to restore a decomposed, chipped, broken or discolored tooth. Bonding can be done in a single visit, unlike veneers, which are manufactured in a laboratory and need a tailored mold to attain a good in shape.

The process is called bonding because the material bonds to the tooth.

Bonding is among the easiest and smallest amount expensive of cosmetic dental procedures.

The composite resin used in bonding can be shaped and refined to match the nearby teeth.

Most often, bonding is used for cosmetic purposes to get better the exterior of a discolored or chipped tooth.

It also can be used to close spaces between teeth, to make teeth look longer or to change the shape or color of teeth.

Sometimes, bonding also is used as a cosmetic substitute to amalgam fillings, or to defend a piece of the tooth's root that has been exposed when gums recede.